aCademiC Catalog 2013-2014 - Lorenzo de Medici

School of Arts & Sciences ROME
Anthropology
Intercultural Communication
ANT 290 R; Dual listed: COM 290 R
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
The course, which introduces students to the basic patterns
of cross-cultural psychology and communication, proposes
an analysis of communication behavior in interpersonal and
intercultural, individual and group environments. Along with a
study of the influence of culture on identity, viewpoints, and
communication, it progressively proposes all the theoretical
concepts that are necessary to analyze communication in
an interpersonal and intercultural context. Topics include:
common communication difficulties, communication roles
and proxemics. Special emphasis is placed on rituals, message
patterns, clothing, myths, ideologies, and on the influence of
the mass media on our cross-cultural representation of reality.
Prerequisites: Junior standing
Archaeology and Classical
Studies
Underground Rome: The Christian Catacombs
CLA 205 R
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
The course aims to study and explore the darkest, deepest places
beneath the city of Rome: there the still-extant underground
web of galleries, shrines and basilicas built during the Early
Christian and Early Medieval centuries (approx.150-900 CE).
Thanks to a number of lectures and on-site classes, students will
be able to understand the birth and affirmation of the Christian
religion in the capital city of the pagan Roman Empire. Study of
archaeological sites and material culture are an essential part of
the course, which includes class visits to many sites including
the Vatican necropolis beneath St. Peter’s, the catacombs of St.
Sebastian, and the basilica of San Clemente.
Ancient Rome
CLA 210 R; Dual listed: HIS 200 R
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
This course offers a comprehensive introduction to the history
and growth of the ancient Roman empire from the early
settlements in Latium, through the republican and imperial
periods, to the formation of a new Roman world after the crisis
of the 3rd century. A series of themes and issues will be explored:
the range of primary sources available for ancient history;
the political organization of the Roman state; the territorial
expansion and its influence on the cultural and administrative
sphere; Roman religion and the spread of Christianity; the
Roman frontiers and the barbarian populations; and the end
of the Roman world and the birth of a new society. In order
to stimulate students’ critical skills in observing historical
phenomena, a problem-oriented approach will be supported
by readings of primary sources. Students will also have the
chance to observe different approaches to understanding
the past and will develop a sense of the role of historians and
history in society.
Introduction to Archaeology
CLA 240 R
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
Archaeology attempts to understand humankind through the
study of physical remains of past civilizations. This course
introduces students to the aims, methods and possibilities
of archaeological work, from the field to the museum,
exploring past and recent theories and approaches to the
discipline. Key issues in the practice of modern archaeologists
are examined, some through case studies. Topics include
excavation, stratigraphy, cleaning and preservation, dating
methods and protection of cultural heritage. Students study
how archaeologists refer to other disciplines including history,
cultural and physical anthropology, and art history. The course
considers contexts of both ancient Mediterranean and Near
Eastern archaeology, from Prehistory to the Roman Empire,
and includes visits to museums and archaeological sites.
Reading Ancient Rome: Literature, the City
and Society
CLA 284 R; Dual listed: LIT 284 R
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
This course aims to offer students a first acquaintance with
the riches of ancient Roman literature through analysis of
a variety of texts in English translation. Through site visits in
Rome students will have the chance to link their experience of
ancient writings to direct observation of ancient monuments
and art objects. The approach to the texts will be thematic: the
full range of Latin literature from the pre-literary Carmina to
the late Christian apologists will be covered in four thematic
sections entitled Love, Power, Social Life and Religion.
Exposure to different kinds of primary materials (literary texts,
buildings and artworks) will encourage students to reflect on
the links between changes in society (broadly conceived) and
literary and aesthetic taste in ancient Rome. The course thus
hopes to lead students towards a richer and more profound
understanding of the city in which they will be staying; an
appreciation of the pleasures of reading ancient texts; and an
insight into the complexities involved in reconstructing the
historical past.
Archaeology of Italy: from Constantine to
Charlemagne
CLA 298 R
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
Once dismissed as the “Dark Ages” of invasion and destruction
between the fall of ancient Rome and the rise of the medieval
communes, the period has become the focus of intense
scholarly activity and debate. Thanks to excavations in towns,
villas, cemeteries, churches and castles, a vastly more dynamic
picture has emerged for Italy from Late Antiquity and the Early
Middle Ages (circa 300-1000 CE). Exploiting new data and
finds, together with secondary studies and literary sources,
this course offers an overview of the archeological evidence
and history of one of the most vital and complex periods in
all European history. The stress is on continuity and major
changes that occurred in the peninsula after the collapse of
the Western Roman Empire. The medieval remains in Rome
and northern Latium are outstanding. Course topics include:
archaeology of various typologies (domestic, settlements,
churches, monasteries, burials, defensive structures); specific
cultures (Ostrogoths, Lombards); inscriptions; conservation
and reconstruction; distinctive object types; basic analytical
methods of various materials (pottery, metal, glass, wood,
stone). Activities include visits to museums in Rome and
Tuscania (special laboratory), and to two excavation sites.
Greek and Roman Mythology
CLA 310 R
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
The traditional stories about the Greek gods and heroes have
always been a fundamental part of Western art and literature,
especially since their “rediscovery” by Renaissance humanism.
A selection of the great works of ancient Greek literature will
present the most important stories, and will also show how the
Greeks used myth to express the traditional ideals and personal
reflections that captivated and shaped subsequent European
culture. The pictorial narratives, so common in Greek and Roman
monuments and objects, will introduce the sophisticated visual
language created by the Greeks to tell such elaborate tales,
the first such iconographic system and one which was to some
extent “revived”, together with the gods, heroes and heroines,
in Renaissance art. To know Roman mythology and understand
its similarities and differences with Greek mythology is to
understand the real essence of the ideals and aspirations of a
great people that built a great empire. In particular, Virgil and
Ovid, the most widely known writers of Roman mythology, and
also other Roman writers, will help students develop a new
interest for Roman myth, history and art.
Art and Architecture of Ancient Rome
CLA 318 R; Dual listed: ART 315 R
Cr: 3; Contact hrs: 45
This upper level course examines the major developments in the
art and architecture of ancient Rome from the foundation of the
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LdM Academic Catalog 2013-2014